ERIC NEWMAN Sun Sports Editor
The Coconino Panthers golf team has seen a bit of an upward swing in the past two seasons, with increased participation numbers and impressive results.
The Panthers, in coach Langley Martin’s second year, have a program-high 27 golfers and are the only school in Flagstaff with both boys and girls golf squads.
Coconino’s boys finished their team season Thursday, placing third in the Division II Section 7 championship round with a score of 313. It was the Panthers’ lowest-scoring average of the year at 9-over par. They ranked 17th out of 77 D-II teams in scoring average and won eight of their 11 team matches.
Senior Connor Callahan also reached the individual state tournament, while fellow senior Jackson Hammond was still waiting over the weekend for the other section championship results to see if he qualified as well for the Panthers.
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The girls team — the only varsity program in Flagstaff with a full roster — ranked 27th out of 59 D-II squads in scoring average. The girls won five of their eight matches this season. Top senior Rhyen Hannemann ranked 41st individually in Arizona with a 12-over page average.
The girls will play in their section tournament on Monday.
More than the results, though, Coconino’s golfers have been encouraged by the program’s increase in both numbers and skill. Part of that departs with the foundational
“Being able to play with the same group over the past two to three years really helped all of us, and I think we’ve put together a great senior year, especially with all the new kids that came out,” Callahan added.
It’s been a long process to become a competitive group. Some of the older players had to recruit their friends, who either were athletes that just hadn’t golfed before, or were golfers in their free time but had never played on an official team, to show up for practice.
For the girls squad, it was never even certain the team would exist. Hannemann credits the coaching staff, led by Martin, for the Panthers’ rise.
“For my first two years we weren’t able to have a team. I would just play as an individual with the boys my freshman and sophomore years. And then (Martin) came around and got more people involved, and we were finally able to have a team,” Hannemann said. “Before that I was just kind of overlooked. I would play the back nine and didn’t really get to interact with anyone, but she has done so much for me and the other girls, and really inspired me.”
The presence of a girls team has also helped the boys. The two squads push each other, with friendly competition and jabs if one group or player beats the other.
Beside that, the players believe Martin has helped increase the team’s overall skill. Martin played DI college golf at Troy University and coached on the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks for a few years before starting a full-time job as a teacher in the Flagstaff Unified School District.
“It’s been unbelievable having her as a coach. She has encouraged us so much since she came in our junior year. She has so much knowledge of golf, being a college coach and then bringing it down to the high school level,” Hammond said.
The results have been fun. Competing with — and often outscoring — teams from the Phoenix or Tucson areas has been rewarding, too.
“When we go down to Phoenix or those teams come here and we’re beating some of them, they’re surprised. They don’t think we’re anything special, and then they come here and see different,” senior Jackson Gray said.
Both the girls and boys Panthers squads will have to rebuild after losing some quality seniors to graduation following this season. However, with a team on the rise and a coach that is making efforts to keep the team growing, there is no doubt in the minds of the current players that Coconino will be in a great spot for the future.
“We’ve seen it grow. And now we’re leaving it for the freshman coming in so they can keep growing it,” Hammond said.
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